Wiseco Yamaha R6 Project Bike

The latest Wiseco project bike to get some ink was our 2007 Yamaha R6 project bike. We built the bike for the 2008 Dealer Expo in Indianapolis and contacted 2Wheel Tuner to show everyone the bike. From day-to-day street riding to a track-day bike, the Wiseco R6 has it all. Read the full article below.


WISECO’S Big-Bore R6-- Torque Ain't Cheap
JULY 2009 WWW.SPORTBIKECLUB.COM
Story by Arlo Redwine // Photos courtesy of Wiseco


Wiseco makes a large selection of piston kits for sportbikes. To trumpet this fact, in 2007 the company had a Yamaha YFZ-R6 customized using one of its overbore piston kits and a host of other trick parts (see spec box). The following February, Wiseco displayed the bike at its booth at the Dealer Expo trade show, where motorcycle dealers got the message loud and clear. Mission accomplished, right? Not quite. Because regular folks weren’t allowed to attend the show, nobody else knew about the bike. So Wiseco contacted 2Wheel Tuner, and we were thrilled to oblige in letting you in on this badass big-bore R6. Why did Wiseco choose the 2007 R6 instead of one of the literbikes, for which it also makes kits? “We wanted to be different,” Wiseco’s Sean McLaughlin explains, noting that 1,000cc bikes already dominate the magazines. We built it as an everyday bike that can be ridden back and forth from work, but that can also — with little modification — be a fairly capable track-day weapon.”

Wiseco went balls out with the engine. Millennium Technologies bored out and replated the cylinders. The piston kit expands the bore from 67mm to 69mm, bringing the displacement to 636cc. KWS Motorsports and Wiseco developed a blueprint of the race engine, and the former ported and polished the cylinder head, performed a five-angle valve job, and changed out the
connecting rods, head gasket, bearings, etc. It adapted the OEM camshaft to the new setup by installing APE billet adjustable cam sprockets. According to Wiseco, the result is 128 rear-wheel
horsepower on race fuel, and 121 rwhp on premium pump gas. Just as important is the added torque brought about by the addition of sixth-tenths of a compression point. “The bike really comes alive around 11,500,” Wiseco’s Jeff Clarkin says. “You feel more torque down low through the rev range, but when you start getting that engine closer to its peak revs, the power doesn’t
fall off like the stock bike would. So you can really tell the torque difference in the seat of your pants.”



Wiseco had a local race shop place the bike in a GMD Computrack machine, which determines the bike’s optimal geometry. The shop optimized the rake, trail and suspension for superfast turn-ins. What does Wiseco plan to do with the bike now? Actually the company sold it last year. But luckily a Wiseco employee is the new owner, so the bike’s still in the family. Says Clarkin, “We got about 1,500 street miles on it now by just riding it around, enjoying it, having fun. It’s a great bike.”

2009 Honda CRF450R Project Bike

For the first project bike of the year, Wiseco has chosen the 2009 CRF450R. This fresh new racer is packed with loads of high performance goodies, including the latest and most advanced technology available.

We started with our bread and butter and upgraded the heart of the engine with our brand new 13:1 high compression piston. This piston is loaded with features and is built on a dedicated forging, so the strength-to-weight ratio is perfectly optimized for this application. In addition, the skirts are frosted Wiseco’s new ArmorGlide skirt coating for reduced friction, quiet operation, and extra insurance against cold scuffing.


To compliment the new heart of the engine, and to help it breath, we upgraded the lungs with an ultra-light full titanium Yoshimura RS-4 exhaust system. In this case the bark is as nasty as the bite, as the handsomely tuned system drew improved power delivery from the engine, giving it a very ride-able power band with nice increases over stock.

The most exciting part on the CRF450R is our new Fuel Management EFI Controller. Just like with a carbureted bike, to fully benefit from the changes we made to the piston and exhaust system, the fuel delivery needed adjusted. Obviously it is not easy to adjust the fuel delivery on a fuel-injected bike as easily as you can by swapping jets on a carbureted bike. . . until now! Wiseco’s new Generation 3.5 Fuel Management Controller allows the user to dial in the injector duration with the touch of a button. With simple plug-and-play installation, the user is able to select one of three tuning zones, that are synonymous with the pilot jet circuit, needle jet circuit, and main jet circuit on a carburetor. There is no laptop or external power supply needed! Once installed, the Fuel Management Controller can be used to select the necessary tuning zone, and then simply add or subtract fuel to maximize the power delivery, or optimize ride-ability. If that isn’t cool enough, we took the Fuel Controller one step further by coupling it with an external oxygen sensor mounted in the head pipe of the exhaust. This allowed us to run in full CLOSED loop mode, which maintains a specified air/fuel ratio at any given point in the RPM range, altitude, or temperature. Once the perfect air/fuel ratio is identified, our Fuel Management Controller will monitor the exhaust through the oxygen sensor, and hold the fuel delivery exactly at the programmed ratio.


To finish off the project bike, we installed our brand new 6-spring clutch, which includes a fully forged clutch basket, inner hub, and pressure plate, and Wiseco frictions, drive plates, and springs. The stock 4-spring CRF450R clutch has a heavy pull, and uneven spring clamping. The Wiseco design improves on that by offering a retrofit to the better 6-spring design, which evens the clamping load and lightens the pull at the lever.

We went with the CV4 radiator hose kit to eliminate the tee in the lines, and improve the quality and appearance of the stock hoses. Pro-Action took care of the suspension to ensure the bike handled as well as it ran. Renthal is handled the drive department with a R3 Gold O-Ring chain, Ultralite rear sprocket, and grooved front sprocket. Braking USA ensured the stopping power is up to par with a 270mm oversized front wave rotor and rear wave rotor. We used the Cycra M2 pivoting hand guard system for roost protection. Johnny Signs finished off the bike with a beautiful custom graphics kit highlighting the Wiseco-powered bike and supporting sponsors.

Wiseco has products for all the CRF450's, including high performance pistons; forged clutch components; clutch plates, springs, and covers; valve train components; and bottom end rebuild kits. Check out http://www.wiseco.com/ProductSearch.aspx to find what we offer for you.